My Thoughts On Ageism
Hmm..... I haven't honestly given it much thought but I suppose I should, since I am getting to a point in life where it is starting to matter. I think the first time I ran into it was when I was faced with a decision about a position change where my age (40+) allowed me a little extra time to mull things over. It was the first time I thought, "Really, 40 is the threshold for this?"
I don't think of myself as middle-aged or even just past it..... In my mind, I'm still in my late 20s. My friends and I have all just gotten out of college and have only been working a few short years or just gotten out of grad school. We're not yet staring our AARP cards in the face. But then I go to doctor's appointments and reality catches up. Labwork every three months to keep hereditary health conditions from sneaking up on me. Treatments for age-related issues. Being told, "you've got a lot of arthritis built up in that ankle" and realizing that my initial diagnosis was 25 years earlier when I was a "healthy" 20 -- and giving the doc my old "tell me something I don't know" look and speech.
I kind of enjoy my role these days as elder sister....... I'd always been the baby of the bunch, not knowing certain things and having my older friends share their wisdom and knowledge with me. Now it's my turn.
And there are those who just don't care, won't care. The ones who'll think I'm a relic from a long-forgotten time and place. The ones who assume that because I don't listen to certain groups or don't see the same viewpoint on a subject, that I'm to be dismissed or discarded as a dinosaur. Go ahead, underestimate me. You aren't the first and won't be the last. It's a youthful mistake. Enjoy it. And remember it for when you're the fossil a few years later.
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